Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/551

Rh are common, as many as 87 in one day having been counted. Scarcely a month passes without greater or less vibrations, and in some cases whole towns are destroyed by them. They are the frequent causes of fire in cities by overturning lights and braziers. An earthquake in Yedo in 1854 killed several thousand people, and threw down hundreds of houses. In general, however, the shocks are light, and the natives and resident foreigners care little about them. The houses are built with reference to resisting or neutralizing the shocks, mostly of timber, and their chief supports are set into sockets cut in round or waterworn stones. The roof is constructed of massive logs and beams covered with heavy tiles. The inertia of this mass secures stability, while the force of the shock is interrupted in its continuity, and greatly lessened by being broken at the sockets. Many temples, pagodas, and castles have thus withstood the shocks for centuries. The eastern half of the main island is most subject to earthquakes, and Shikoku and Kiushiu are far less so. Superstition attributes the cause of earthquakes to a huge catfish, whose head is under Oshiu and his tail under Kioto. His anger and struggles cause the seismic throes.—The surface of the whole empire is almost entirely a succession of hills and valleys. The soil is mainly diluvium and disintegrated lava, though every kind is known. It is in general fertile and well cultivated, but large tracts on the mainland and in Yezo lie uncultivated, being either not urgently needed, or, as in many cases, being useless from lack of scientific methods of improvement and fertilization. Japan could easily maintain double its present population. Rice land is made wherever possible, and after centuries of patient toil the largest part of the fertile land is laid out in the form of irrigated rice fields. In many places the mountain sides are terraced and tilled. The area under cultivation is not known, but is assessed at 31,620,000 koku. A koku is 5.13 bushels. Rice has hitherto been the standard of value. The amount which a given piece of land will produce is determined by threshing the rice grown on it and measuring the grain. The fertility of the soil varies greatly in different places, but rice land is worth five times more than arable land. Almost all agricultural labor is done by hand, and with the rudest tools.—The climate resembles that of our Atlantic seacoast states, though not so changeable as the latter. The meteorological records of one year (1864) in Yokohama were as follows, in monthly averages: January, 36.50°; February, 38.12°; March, 43.28°; April, 57.36°; May, 64.04°; June, 69.14°; July, 76.49°; August, 79.55°; September, 70.44°; October, 62.55°; November, 52.09°; December, 44.30°. Annual mean range of temperature, 58.02°. First frost, Nov. 26; first ice, Dec. 14. There were 205 fair, 61 cloudy, 92 rainy, and 8 snowy days. In 1864 71.44 inches of rain fell. The general direction of the wind was N. in winter and autumn, and S. in summer. Rain and snow are rather more common on the W. coast than on the E. Rain falls abundantly in the spring and summer; June is considered the rainy month. In some years it rains constantly through September and October. Snow rarely remains on the ground longer than 24 hours in Tokio or S. of it. In the provinces N. of Kioto, on the W. coast, the snow lies for weeks at the depth of from 6 to 10 ft. Storms with thunder and lightning are much more rare than in the United States, but floods of rain and high winds are common. At least once if not oftener in the summer or early fall a cyclone or tai-fun (typhoon) visits the country, destroying life and property to an appalling extent. One which passed over Kobe July 4, 1871, dashed scores of junks and ships far up on land, demolishing houses, and killing more than 200 persons. In Fukui it blew down houses and damaged nearly every fence and roof in the city. Tidal waves after earthquakes are also to be looked for, and one on Dec. 22, 1855, destroyed part of the town of Shimoda, swept scores of the people into the sea, ruined the harbor by sweeping all the mud from the rocks, so that anchors were useless, and destroyed the Russian frigate Diana and a fleet of native junks.—Japan is rich in gold, silver, copper, lead, mercury, tin, coal, sulphur, and salt. Iron is also found in many of the provinces, but as it is in the form of magnetic oxide, the cost of smelting it is very great; hence Japan will not be able to produce enough native iron to supply her wants. The quality of Japanese iron, however, is very good, and often equal to the best Swedish. Tin is now more extensively mined than formerly, owing to the increasing use of tinned iron. Copper is so abundant that it was formerly of the same value as iron. Large quantities are still exported in the form of bars and blocks, old bells, idols, &c. Gold is obtained in many places, both by washing the earth and sands of rivers, and from the ore. Silver is extracted from its ores, but chiefly from argentiferous galena. Sado island, where most of the precious metals are mined, has a population of 3,000 native miners. The mines are worked under the supervision of two English miners, who have the most approved modern machinery. Many of the old mines throughout the country have been abandoned, but under an approved system of mining the mineral wealth of Japan will be increased. Blasting, introduced by Prof. Pumpelly, is now generally practised, and pumping, crushing, and washing are done by machinery. Graphite of excellent quality is mined in Satsuma, and used for pencils made by the natives. Bituminous coal of an inferior quality is dug in many places, but coal is largely mined in Yezo, Amakusa, Karatsu, and near Nagasaki, and sold for the use of steamers. Sulphur is abundant and of excellent quality. Petroleum is obtained in Echigo, Suruga, Yezo, and other